What would you do with this ruby?

[Upgradable]

It was a birthday gift from the jeweler I worked for over the holiday. Very pretty color, a little chipped and scuffed, measures 9.5x6.3x4.0. I don''t want to sink much money into it, no more than about $500. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[whitby_2773]

hi uppy

initially i wanted to pop it onto a cup cake and...no - wait - it just *looks* like something one would eat...

second thought - y/g bezel.

still yummy tho

 

[Arkteia]

Nice color, do not know what to do under $ 500. Maybe talk to Michael E, he said he could make inexpensive setting by combining several pieces? (Look into "how much gold" by MAC-W).

 

[Upgradable]

Hey Whit! How''s the five stone project going??

The color of this stone is so pretty (cherry instead of strawberry), as well as the long legged shape. I''m really considering just an 18k yellow gold basket solitaire from LOGR. That way I can wear it without investing much into it.

I think bezeling would darken it more than I''d like. Any ideas for pendants?

 

[packrat]

Pretty! How''s about...

this is a cab I know, but it''s bezeled

Christie setting.

Or maybe see if someone could do a waaaay less expensive version of this Sholdt

 

[packrat]

Aw crap, I knew I shoulda F5''d before I replied.

I think Sally''s ring settings can be modified to be pendants. MTG has the pretty Mistral pendant. Dang now I''m stumped!

 

[Upgradable]

Hi packy! I didn''t think to look at Sally. After just saying that I didn''t think I would want a bezel, I''m going to have to eat my words. I love that bezel you''ve linked the gold is so buttery! I would want my stone set N/S though, because my fingers are so short and stubby!

Hoping Michael E checks in, because I want to know if the off size of this stone automatically means I have to go custom? I''d love to just get a yellow gold peg head to put into an existing mounting, but know that heads only come in standard sizes.

 

[packrat]

YG and red stones make me giddy. Like Kas''s ruby lotus, and Sally''s had some other red/yg pieces (like the earrings on there that make me swoon)..it''s such a great combination!

 

[Upgradable]

Here''s another pretty picture.

 

[Upgradable]

one on my hand so you can see size.

 

[Indylady]

Do you want diamond side stones, or a gold only piece?

 

[packrat]

This is from (i''m pretty sure) somebody on Etsy.

 

[RevolutionGems]

A couple of questions...

I assume this is a fissure filled ruby?

Have you considered a recut?

As far as the setting, I would probably go with silver. It would be inexpensive and the stone would be the star of the piece. I am thinking some kind of a a minimalist pendant...

 

[LD]

Date: 1/19/2010 12:41:49 PM
Author: Upgradable
Hi packy! I didn''t think to look at Sally. After just saying that I didn''t think I would want a bezel, I''m going to have to eat my words. I love that bezel you''ve linked the gold is so buttery! I would want my stone set N/S though, because my fingers are so short and stubby!

Hoping Michael E checks in, because I want to know if the off size of this stone automatically means I have to go custom? I''d love to just get a yellow gold peg head to put into an existing mounting, but know that heads only come in standard sizes.

What are the dimensions of the stone? If it''s "almost" a calibrated size (i.e. 8 x 6mm) you might be able to get away with it without customisation. Depending on the setting and dimensions.

LOGR do customise their settings to fit your stone BUT you need to talk to them first to find out if your chosen setting can be customised to fit, some can''t.

 

[Arkteia]

Sally''s settings are so interesting! Also, inexpensive by today''s standards. I have earrings made from large black start diopsldes, in red gold, pretty nice but...wearing them in your ears feels like a medieval torture. I thought about remaking them into a pendant and a ring, and it seems that Sally could do a nice job, but didn''t someone say that things got lost on the way to her? Do you think it is safe to send a finished piece in rose gold her way?

 

[Upgradable]

Okay, some more info.

Don't know about fracture filling? I do know that my jeweler bought it in India (his home country) about a dozen years ago.

I'm not interested in going through a recut. And I like the look of mounting it in yellow gold instead of a white metal, at least with the stone mounting itself.

Oh, and size is 9.5x6.3x4.0

 

[Indylady]

It has the "look" of a fissure filled ruby, but fissure filling wasn''t really popular 10 years ago, so it very well might not be filled.

Fissure filling is filling the cracks in a ruby with colored lead. I don''t know how to test for it at home, and its probably not worth it to send it to a lab, so I wouldn''t worry about it especially since it was a gift.

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 1/19/2010 12:41:49 PM
Author: Upgradable

Hoping Michael E checks in, because I want to know if the off size of this stone automatically means I have to go custom?

Since this stone has square corners which are a bit dinged up I''d definitely go with a bezel to cover them. Custom ? Well not in the sense that it would be expensive. I''d use a pre-made band section and then make up a bezel from stock flat bar. It''s much easier than it sounds and very much within your budget. Most of the cost of this sort of thing is in the band...how much it weighs and what it''s made of. I''d stay with a gold bezel since it''s more durable than silver, but you could use a silver band if you wanted to really press the price down.

Do you know if the ruby is glass filled ? If that''s a possibility, you''ll want to mention it to whoever does the project for you. Glass filled stones can have the glass erode if the jeweler leaves it in the pickle pot for an extended period. If it''s a fluxed stone that''s not a concern.

Michael E.

 

[LD]

Date: 1/19/2010 1:46:04 PM
Author: Upgradable
Okay, some more info.

Don't know about fracture filling? I do know that my jeweler bought it in India (his home country) about a dozen years ago.

I'm not interested in going through a recut. And I like the look of mounting it in yellow gold instead of a white metal, at least with the stone mounting itself.

Oh, and size is 9.5x6.3x4.0

Calibrated settings tend to be 10x8 or 9x7. A 10x8 won't work but a 9x7 might but it depends on the setting as to whether it has any allowance for tolerance. Occasionaly you'll find settings from LOGR that are 9.5x7.5 or something similar so it might be worth a quick look.

I would second Michael's suggestion that it's also worth asking the jeweller you worked for if he knows whether it's been glass filled. As Michael says, some jewellers will put a gemstone in an acid bath and if that happens it can literally eat the glass filling away.

This isn't an issue (or shouldn't be) if you get a customised setting because it's simply a matter of setting.

I would also suggest a bezelled (or perhaps a semi bezelled) setting. Are the chips just top and bottom? If so, how about a setting that simply bezels both top and bottom but leaves the sides open? That way you get the light to the gem but hide the damage?